Circuit training 2

I had so much fun on Tuesday, jogging to Memorial Park for bodyweight training, that I decided to do it again today.

On Tuesday, I spent most of my time at the combined exercise station. I figured this time I could try the full circuit around the lake instead, including running between the stations and doing at least one set at each station. I wanted to test how well this would work.

The weather today was very spring like - misty and cool. This time I took a slightly different route to the park, and joined the lake pathway near the north side of the lake.

This was perfect because the first station I came to was actually the combined station. This allowed me to do a few exercises I wanted to incorporate that I might not have time for when I did the full circuit around the lake.

One of the things I tried while at the combined exercise station was swinging leg raises. This exercise is more specific to developing explosive power like needed for the muscle up. Some trainers don't recommend doing muscle ups, but problems with the exercise seem to mostly stem from overestimating one's ability and progressing too quickly.

After a short time at the combined station, I jogged about two tenths of a mile to the standalone pullup station.

A few quick pullups later and I was on to the next station, which was shaped like a curved ladder.

The best way I've found to use this station is to grab it near the top and then bend down at the knees like the top example picture, except even further, getting a full stretch in the glutes. Then very quickly push upwards, flexing the glutes and using quite a bit of upward force, into the standing position. It felt like a stretch plus a glute movement to me.

Next it was on to the step station, which I used to do box jumps.

Man, box jumps do get tiring more quickly than one would expect! I hope to continue to do these regularly, as I think they'll help me develop strength with upward force, which should be helpful in an uphill mountain race like the Ascent!

The first three stations were all spaced fairly closely, about two tenths of a mile apart. There was more like double that distance, about four tenths of a mile, before the next station.

This station was one of the toughest ones for me, considering my upper body was already getting pretty fatigued by now, not to mention my grip strength was tired. Clearly, this side-to-side hanging motion is one that I need to prioritize in the future, especially earlier on in my workout.

The next few stations were also closer together again. I enjoyed the next station.

More of a stretch than an exercise at first, if you anchor your feet at an angle against the foot bar at the bottom, you can lean back as far as you can and then pull yourself up.

The next station is a standard dip bench. Great for leg raises too.

After that, there is an inclined pushup station. You can also rotate your torso and raise your arms as you do this, making it a more complete upper body movement.

Finally, the situp station! I'll admit I was pretty much ready to run home by the time I got here, and my tailbone was still a bit sore because I probably did at least 7 sets of situps when I was last here on Tuesday. But I did a few reps to at least say I completed the circuit.

Finally, I'd completed a loop around the lake and the whole circuit workout. I'd say doing a full circuit this way, with running in between the stations, is much more difficult than doing the exact same circuit at the standalone station!

My run totalled up to 8 miles today. It's nice to know that I can vary the distance by the direction I go and whether or not I loop the lake, making this run anywhere from 6 to 9 miles.

I'll probably most often just run down to the combined exercise station, do my bodyweight work there, and then loop the lake or run home, because doing a spread out circuit is much tougher! However, I thought it would be neat to try out, plus I figured it may be useful information if someone else wanted to use this park for circuit training.

Midweek training at Memorial Park

The weather is getting nice! Even though that bomb cyclone dropped so much snow on the mountains that it'll likely still take weeks to melt out, the town is heating up. It was almost 70 degrees today and will be over 70 tomorrow!

I took the opportunity of warm weather in town to get some urban running in, and also to visit the newly redesigned exercise stations at Memorial Park.

Memorial Park is a little more than 3 miles from my house, so it's a perfect warm-up for hitting the pullup station.

The exercise stations are all around the lake, right on the waterfront trail. There's one main exercise station which has all the different components, and then each of these "components" is also duplicated separately at another location around the lake.

First I hit the standalone pullup bars, and then I jogged to the combined station.

The combined station is THE COOLEST thing! It has a complete body workout with mostly bodyweight exercises. It is well setup, and each part has a small explanation of various exercises that can be performed at the station.

What's really cool is that if you go around the whole station as a circuit, you get exercises that are complimentary to each other, so that you get a well-rounded workout. For example, one part of the station might offer a flexion exercise and the next station offers decompression of the same muscle, balancing out what you're doing.

I did each station around the circuit twice, utilizing each part for two different movements. What fun!

I especially enjoyed the box jumps and the monkey bars. It's like a playground, but for adults. I fully believe that exercise should be fun! I enjoy running for the sheer joy of moving my body under my own power, and these bodyweight exercise stations follow that same philosophy. Not that I'm giving up lifting heavy weights at the gym, but a bodyweight station like this is a great for an alternative exercise day.

After the circuit, I ran around the lake, stopping to do a couple more sets at the standalone situp station on the far side of the lake.

I added some mileage by going back along the Shooks Run trail and joining into the Rock Island trail, rounding out 9 miles for the day. I'd call that solid for a midweek training run plus circuit! Although I kept thinking about how Craig plans to go over 50 miles tomorrow, wow! I can't wait to hear about his adventure.

I'm liking this kind of midweek training run where I'm able to incorporate more than just running. I do plan to start going to the Thursday hill training sessions with the Incline club soon, so that'll be my speed work day each week. I was thinking of doing the club track sessions on Tuesdays also, but it's  more likely that I'll be doing more circuits and urban running instead - I'm not sure I'm cut out for *two* speedwork sessions each week, plus my weekly long run on Sundays.

So it seems that my general training plan for the Ascent is falling into place. A weekly quality hill session, a weekly long run, a weekly circuit run, and at least two weightlifting sessions. Plus the odd bonus Incline thrown in, and lots of summit work once the summer heats up! Let's go for that sub-4:00:00 Ascent.

Quick jaunt to the Bottomless Pit junction

At the risk of seeming redundant, I wanted to share some photos of my run to Bottomless Pit junction today.

Although I run on Barr trail more often than any other trail in the Pikes Peak region, I still feel each trip up the peak is a unique experience. And I enjoy sharing those experiences, trail conditions, and photos.

Today's Incline trip was a 36:20. I'll take that, even though my legs felt like lead by the bailout. Speaking of which, it was nice to see Tim at the bailout. I waved to him and forced my tired quads to climb on.

The Incline itself was free of snow or ice. But, as I expected, the ice and snow began at No Name Creek and continued, virtually unbroken, all the way up the trail from there. Today's Barr trail conditions were quite a bit more packed than the powdery snow of last week. The parts of the trail that had melted out and refrozen were very icy in areas. I'd say the trail was half crunchy packed snow and half ice. Good conditions for my nano spikes but definitely dangerous without traction.

The skies were clear and gorgeous blue as I rounded the corner on Lightning Point. 

I pressed on for Barr Camp, landing a 2:19 today. Which was far better than last weekend's 2:42! The snow being more packed made for easier travel than the soft powder. Nonetheless, I'll have to aim for under 2 hours as summer comes around. Clear trails will go a ways to help my times, but speedwork will also be necessary. 

As I came up on camp, I wanted to go just another switchback or so up the trail. Well, I came around the next switchback and figured it couldn't hurt to go to the 6.5 miles sign (the next significant landmark). But being a crazy trail runner, I reached the 6.5 sign and the sun was shining and I kept on going. Never trust a trail ultra runner to stop at their first destination! As I worked towards the Bottomless Pit junction, the snow underneath the packed trail got deeper and deeper. I knew I was walking on over 3 feet of packed powder with only a small (maybe one foot wide) area where it was packed hard enough to not fall through. 

Which is exactly what happened when I misstepped once. I fell in to my thigh. Oh well, it happens! 

I made the Bottomless Pit junction and called it a day. Truthfully, I was pretty tired by the top of the Incline, so who knows what motivation I gathered to push as far as I did.

By the time I turned around, the clouds had moved rapidly overhead. The clear blue day was now completely overcast. I took comfort in the fact that I had only one mile of downhill before I could warm up inside the cozy cabin at Barr Camp. 

Almost back at camp, a guy passed me going uphill - shirtless! Turns out he was headed for the summit - shirtless! He said that he was practicing a technique that someone had used to ascend Everest - shirtless. I wished him luck, but snow clouds were closing in on the summit.

At camp, I got a chance to catch up with Zach and Regan. Craig was also there, and he told me he was planning on running over 50 miles on Wednesday! I'll tell ya, that guy is so inspiring. 

When I left camp, lightly falling snow was all around me, making me feel thankful to be able to exist, and simply enjoy, the peaceful winter woods.

At Lightning Point, it was evident how quickly the weather had changed. 

What a reminder that in the woods, we're just visitors. The mountains will change their mood at a moment's notice.

Running in the mountains post-"bomb cyclone"

This winter has seen a fair amount of snow on the southern Front Range.

I recall about 4 years ago when there was so much snow up above treeline on Pikes Peak that the Barr trail literally had to be dug out before the Ascent. Then the following few years, the trail was bone dry much earlier. In fact, last year, I was making full summits very early on.

Not so, this year. Our recent snowstorm- nicknamed the "bomb cyclone" because of the sustained 40 mph winds it brought- dropped a ton of snow on the mountains.

Combined with experiencing some leading fatigue indicators, I was set for a tough day in the mountains.

Today's run was one of those that felt very successful, like tough training that ultimately pays off with greater mental and physical strength gains.

I started with a 39:55 Incline,  which is a few minutes slower than the 36:29 I was able to do last week. Furthermore, I felt like I was working harder this week. This indicated to me that my fatigue level was higher this week than last.

The incline was basically free of snow or ice. But once I reached the top, I instantly put spikes on. I think I made the right call, because the snow, slush and ice started not 50 feet up the trail.

The snow conditions were very powdery and deep from No Name Creek up. In some places, it was apparent that the trail itself was under several feet of snow, and snowdrifts in certain areas were chest-deep or more. Take for example how high the snow was at the 5 miles sign!

I didn't fall in, because the trail was tracked in, likely by snowshoes initially. But there certainly was that feeling that I was standing on nothing but 4 feet of semi solid water in places!

Lightning Point was gorgeous in the snow, as always.

The last half mile before Barr Camp was the toughest part of the run for me. It seemed to go on forever, and the powder was deep. It was like hiking up a ski slope. Soft on the feet with lots of give.

I wasn't able to stop in at Barr Camp for very long, since it had already taken me 2 hours and 42 minutes to get there. I basically had to pop in and turn around. Man, what a tough run! It felt like each step was great exercise though, and it was one of those types of runs that was very productive despite being very slow.

I hope to be able to spend more time at Camp next time I go, and hopefully the snow conditions will get better. At least all the Reservoirs should be full this year.

A glance toward Almagre on the way down showed a lot of snow as well.

A lot of the snow on the trail was becoming slushy ice on my way down already, as the mountains prepare for the next snowstorm.

Even though I look forward to faster days on the trail once the snow melts, tough days with deep snow conditions do have their place. I feel that the benefits from a day such as today are easily underestimated.

Getting back into the swing of things

Mostly all winter, I've been running once a week or so, and even with a regular gym schedule and cross-training, I was beginning to miss running as frequently as I had last year. Now with it being intermittent spring, I am trying to hit the trails at least 2 or 3 times a week.

Even now though, as I play at the park with my children, I watch all the snow clouds forming over the mountains. It's beautiful to see them engulfing Pikes, and then Mt. Rosa, and soon the foothills. But I know this means the storm cloud will be over town by tomorrow! The lesson is: take advantage of the early spring training while you can, because winter's not done with us!

On Sunday, I hit up the incline. I started late, sleeping in for the time change, so I didn't go to the club run. But happily I ran into Jim on the Barr as I was headed down, so I finally got back in contact with him, as I look forward to scheduling some runs with him this summer. He's a long distance kind of guy, and I certainly am waiting patiently on mountain adventures for this summer! I can't wait to get the Missing Link trail (now called Lake Moraine trail also I believe) completed from North Cheyenne Cañon to Barr Camp.

As for Sunday, the day started cloudy and windy but quickly got warmer, and I hit a 36:29 on my Incline for the day. I enjoyed the views of Pikes from near No Name Creek as the clouds lifted. I then headed down, opting for a short day.

Today,  I decided to set out and run at least 10 miles, since Sunday was such a short day. I ran a good segment of the Legacy Loop. For those of you who haven't tried this urban loop, the improvements have made it very nice to run.

I mixed it up a little on my run. First I stopped by my favorite pullup bars and did 3 sets of pullups and 3 sets of pushups.

Then I ran until my GPS said 5.5, calling 11 miles "good enough" for today. The Legacy Loop has some nice features. As I was running, I thought about the recent Adam Ruins Everything episode on nature, and as he states,  nature can be everywhere - and this urban trail corridor is no exception. The natural features like ponds enhance the loop.

The improvements to the trail include a nice walkway that goes down to a flat area near the river, close to Uintah street.

Then I found a bench and did some tricep dips, rounding out my earlier workout. I will probably still do some core work later tonight. Hopefully all this training will actually help my times on the mountain this summer as I prepare for the Ascent. I'll need focused speedwork and dedicated strengthening to get that sub-4! The Legacy Loop can be used in many ways to contribute to this training, so I'm thankful to have it completed and operational. 

Now as I watch the clouds while at the park, I look forward to many beautiful days atop those far summits! One of the best parts of living near the mountains is getting to enjoy their grandeur after a nice long run. 

Trying to settle back into a Colorado routine

I admit it's a bit depressing going from warm sunny Arizona, where I could run outside barefoot and wear tank tops every day, back to the on-again-off-again snowstorm of Colorado.

I love Colorado most of the time. The mountains call me, and I've had more joyous adventures with friends than I can count.

But early March is not the ideal time for Colorado trails, in my opinion. Allow me to preface this by stating that we had a snowstorm three days ago that dumped at least 8 inches around the Colorado Springs area. But temperatures of 50 to 60 degrees over the next days melted off most of the town thoroughly.

I decided to loop around all of Palmer Park by trail alone. I started with the Templeton Trail. On the south side of the mesa, where I began, the trail was clear and completely free of any moisture. I was actually surprised by how good the trail conditions were.

Well, it wouldn't last. As soon as I began to get to the west side of the mesa, I encountered thick, sloppy mud. Whole sections of unavoidable sticky goo. Soon enough, the north side of the park brought slushy ice, followed by ice covered with water, followed by icy ice that was so packed down and so slick in places that I had to actually crawl through a small section.

Yep, that's definitely spring conditions in Colorado!

I don't think I've ever done a full loop of the Templeton trail, even though I've seen almost all the sections of it on various trail runs, beginning at the time I was in high school and running trails for cross country. Although the conditions were nasty in places, I stuck it out and looped the whole trail.

And because that wasn't enough punishment for a day, I then crossed Paseo and went back up the muddy trail to the other large mesa that makes up Palmer Park, opting for a shorter loop this time, including the Cheyenne, Grandview, and Kinnickinnick trails.

I ended up with over 9 miles, but due the trail conditions, and the fact that I ascended and descended the mesa twice (plus all that up-and-down action on Templeton trail), this run was downright tough. I landed right around 2000 feet elevation gain. And my legs were toast afterwards.

The only upside was that this trail run fit perfectly into my training for the Pikes Peak Ascent. My mantra when I encountered the bad patches was "train for any possibility on race day."

But honestly, I can't wait for summer to come to the mountains.